what is in it for me Archives

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“It is in doing things and not reading about them that results come about.”
―Stephen Richards

When it comes to driving your businesses results, steer clear of promises of get-rich-quick schemes or offers to make you an overnight success. Warning, when you hear something that is too good to be true, it often is. You know those people you think about being an overnight success – they are not. You did not witness the sacrifices, the work that was put in, and the sweat and tears that went into getting to where they are today. They were the ones honing their craft while others were out partying it up. They finally reached a tipping point where all their efforts, hard work, and dedication stood out in the crowded marketplace. If you want to drive your business results, you need to look beyond the bottom line. Your bottom-line is important but should not be your sole focus.

Communicating Your Vision and Values The leader of the organization needs to be able to communicate the vision and values for the business in order to gain by in from the people. There is great debate whether businesses and organization should be well managed or well led. There may be a decent argument for a little bit of both. When people are focused on the process, sometimes they lose sight of the impact on the people and how it ripples to the rest of their lives. As a leader, I have a different perspective. I believe that if you gain the trust and buy-in, you gain engagement. Engagement of your people with drive your business results as your people can share ideas and an invested interest in reaching the end goal = making the vision a reality.

Sharing the Benefits Remember when sharing your vision that you need to share the benefits too – the benefits to your people as individuals, as a group, and the entire organization and the people served. People are always looking for “What’s in it for me?” and wondering “Is what I am doing meaningful and does it make a difference?” Let them know that they matter and how what their involvement does.

Appreciating and Recognizing Your People For some people the monetary incentive is attractive but what intrinsically drives people more is that you are catching them doing something good! Let the people who work for you know what a great job they do and focus on specifics so they can do more of it. You can recognize them for their attendance, follow through, how they handled a situation or project, or the presentation they were nervous about. When someone appreciates you and believes in you, you will go out of your way to ensure that you are giving your very best.

Streamline Processes or Discover New Ways to Become More Efficient “A Better Way” Of Doing Things You can drive your business results and performance by looking for ways to become more efficient. Reflect and keep track of wastes of time, money, and resources. You may be surprised with what you uncover. By paying attention to the smallest detail you can save time, money, and resources if you look for ways to be better and stronger.

Boost Your Revenue with New Products and Services in the Marketplace Many people are interested in the newest and latest and greatest products and services on the market. When was the last time you brought something new to the marketplace? No one said you needed to create something new entirely. Is there something that needs to be upgrading or updated that you could relaunch? Sales and marketing are an important strategy to getting your voice heard in the marketplace.

Manage Your Expenses and Invest Where You Need to You need to measure and evaluate where your money is going to make good decisions. You can’t just look at an area of business and think I need to cut costs here or cut costs there without evaluating the impact. You want to be responsive in business not reactive. Sometimes you need to invest your money to increase productivity which in turn can lead to increased profit.

Building and Supporting Community There is nothing better than building strength in numbers. By building and supporting your community through charity functions, cross promotion, and collaboration, you can drive business results to extraordinary results. People want to work with people who care about what they care about. When you participate in a fundraiser, charity function, or volunteer, you help your business or organization come alive into a breathing living entity of vision and values in action! Who do you like to do business with and why?

If you want to drive your business results, you want to be purposeful and strategic in getting the outcomes you want. Create an emotional connection to what you want to achieve and you will have many people wanting to help you make that goal a reality. People want to be a part of your success! Let them be a part of the action that makes it happen.

“The results of knowledge without application results in nothing at all. Do what you know better to do.”
― DeWayne Owens

What action will you take today?

We would love to have you subscribed to the Success Secrets newsletter on my website at www.debrakasowski.com where you’re going to get us free MP3 download 10 Surefire Strategies to Power Up Your Productivity and Performance. I would love to hear about this podcast has impacted your life. E-mail me at Debra@DebraKasowski.com. Thank you for listening to The Millionaire Woman Show where we talk about leadership, business, and human potential to help you live rich from the inside out. Subscribe to The Millionaire Woman Show. Share it with Your Friends. Give us a 5-star rating!

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has a heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free mp3 download today! www.debrakasowski.com

Time: 8:46 min

Keywords: Communicate your vision effectively, vision, leadership, business, team, share your vision, what is in it for me, drive business results, drive your business results, boost your revenue, manage your expenses, appreciate your people, share the benefits, communicate your vision and values

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“Good leaders must communicate vision clearly, creatively, and continually. However, the vision doesn’t come alive until the leader models it.” John C. Maxwell

Leaders can have great ideas but unless they can create a compelling vision for their people – ideas remain ideas. Leadership is about being about to communicate what that vision is on a consistent basis. You are pointing the way and leading them toward the vision. You must first believe in the vision yourself in order to share it.

Gain Clarity of Your Vision. You cannot share a vision with others unless you clearly understand it yourself. It does not have to be perfect to gain buy-in, people need to see the vision of what you are talking about. If they cannot understand the picture of what you are creating, you will not gain buy-in. What is the vision?

Make Your Vision Compelling by Sharing Stories. Describe your vision in as much detail as possible. The use of stories will create a connection between you and the people you are communicating the vision to. People will learn ‘why’ your vision is so meaningful to you. They will start to visualize how they fit into the story. Otherwise, they feel like they are on the outside looking in. It is like looking through a candy store window and not being able to touch or taste any of it. Keep your message simple but powerful. What stories or experiences can you share that help share that create a compelling reason for making the vision a reality?

Communicate with Enthusiasm. Be positive about your message. If you are not excited about your vision, you cannot expect others to be. Be passionate and enthusiastic about what you are doing. You want people to be engaged because they say “I want to” rather than them say “I have to” attitude. Otherwise, they will not put in their best efforts as they have no vested interest. People will be drawn to the positive energy you share and will want to learn more. Write out your vision so you can you are describing the vision exactly how you see it and the possibilities. What excites you about the vision?

Communicate a Variety of Ways and Channels. People like to receive information in different ways. They also each interpret messages in different ways. It is best practice to share your vision through a variety of channels. If you communicate the vision randomly, it will get lost in the whirlwind of other daily activities or your message may get diluted.

One of the most popular and possibly overused ways is through email. Not that it is not effective, it may not have the impact when buried in the others 400 emails you have. You may choose share your vision through one-on-one meetings, town hall meetings, video presentations, or even webinars. It can take from 7-9 contacts with information before they start adopting or moving into action. Overcommunicate your message to ensure it sticks. What are the best ways for you to communicate the vision and reach your people?

Help People See Themselves as Part of the Future and Part of Making an Impact on the Greater Good. Team members and followers have their own vision – the starts with “What is in it for me?” Talk in terms of how “we” are going to make the vision a reality. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves by knowing they play a key role in making it happen. Collaborate with and engage your people in the process and help them understand their role and responsibility in making the vision become a part of reality. Two-way dialogue is very important. They want to know how what they do will impact the vision and if their work is meaningful or matters. What part does your team member or team play in making the vision come true?

Keep the communicate lines open. Allow people to ask questions and offer their suggestions. You never know what other experiences people have until the right opportunity comes up to share it. What can you learn from the questions and feedback people share to strengthen your vision?

You have a vision. You must now lead the way. Other are watching and waiting to find out how they will make an impact and when it is their turn. Invite them into the conversation and call them to action – to be a part of the vision.

Time: 10:02 minutes